


Filling Time

by Spazzo47



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 23:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzo47/pseuds/Spazzo47
Summary: What is a curmudgeon to do when his entire social circle no longer works on the same floor as him?  Obviously he annoys the people who work for him.THis piece of fluff is for the November Fan Fiction Challenge -- Bad or Annoying Habits.





	Filling Time

Maggie looked up from the boxes on her desk.  She only had a few more days until her move to DC.  Somehow, she imagined this week different.  She thought her co-workers would start their long, tearful goodbyes by now and that she’d at least get a lunch.  But instead, she got annoyed.  In her heart of hearts, she did want a big deal made of her leaving, but missing it didn’t bother her.  Will walking out of his office like a cuckoo bird set for five minutes to look for anyone to talk to, that annoyed her. 

It started Monday when Mac officially moved to Charlie’s office for her new position.  After the first meeting of the day, Jim went to Will’s office and told him that Mac will need time to acclimate to her new position so her star anchor should stay in their newsroom to give her time to adjust.  Will agreed, which initially came as a relief to the new executive producer.  However, after Will’s fourth visit to Jim’s office in an hour and a half, Jim suggested that Will might want to work more directly with some of the other producers.  Jim said that neither he nor Will have Mac’s skill in mentoring the staff, but maybe they could try to share their wisdom.  Will first rolled his eyes and said, “you could just tell me to get out,” and went back to his office.  About 10 minutes later, he left his office and went to Neal’s desk where he asked the social media expert about his career goals and began marking out a career path for Neal to become a full-fledged journalist.  Will then went back to his office, feeling like he made a difference.  Then he came out 10 minutes later with a schedule of 4 years of classes Neal could take, the first two years at a junior college and then transferring to Columbia.  As Will handed off his work, he told the younger man that they love him at Columbia, so if he has any trouble getting in, Will can take care of it.  Neal politely smiled and nodded. 

After that, Will helped Tess with a relationship issue, created a playlist he and Gary can perform at a talent show he said he wants to start as an annual event, and even asked Kendra for advice on parenting books and strategies that he should look at with his impending fatherhood.  After that, the newsroom began noticing when he left his office and found reasons to not be at their desks when he did.  However, Maggie had the desk closest to his office and therefore couldn’t get up as readily as others.  She has endured advice about packing, residential areas of DC, stories of working in the Bush 41 White House, and printouts with comparisons on the best ways to get between New York and DC since he insisted that Jim should visit her as often as she comes back, and he expects her to come back to visit frequently. 

In three days, Maggie has run out of excuses to leave these little conversations.  She’s told him 4 times today already that she has to use the restroom.  She told him she had to take a phone call for a story, but forgot that she doesn’t have any current assignments, so she covered by lying that it’s something for the new job.  That only resulted in a monolog about how much she has grown or the office will miss her after she leaves.  She really can’t remember which conversations she’s had with him and when.  They all run together.  As Will approached the doorway, Maggie decided to try to hide under her desk.  But she started too late.  He made eye contact with her and she simply sat down with a little less grace than usual.  When he rounded the corner to her desk, she looked around watching all her co-workers scramble in different directions.  Unfortunately for him, Neal chose that moment to walk in.  Before he could make an about face, Maggie said, “Will!  I think Neal had a question about the classes you chose for him.”  Will’s face lit up, while Neal said something indiscernible under his breath.  Will moved on to his new victim and Maggie sent a desperate text off to Mac. 

Mac felt her phone vibrate for the third time in a minute and a half.  She finally had to excuse herself from the meeting she was in to look at the desperate messages.  She knew this would happen.  Why it didn’t start earlier, she didn’t know, though she assumed Jim tried to protect her from this.  Unfortunately, Jim contacted her first and apparently texted her every time Will even looked at his office door.  She knew she would have to step in at some point, but hoped Will would adjust to the new work arrangement on his own.  As two more texts came in, she had to admit that wouldn’t happen without intervention. 

Mac knew if she invited her husband to her office, he would never leave.  When she worked as his EP, he got used to visiting her office or her coming to his several times an hour, except when he went to Charlie’s office for hours at a time.  How Charlie got any work done, Mac had no idea.  But that’s something she will have to figure out later.  The important thing now is that Will wants someone to replace the working relationships he’s had with her and Charlie, and she’s not willing to sic him on anyone.  Or let him monopolize her day until she has a better grasp of her new job.  She knew she had to go down there, but she didn’t know what to say to him. 

When the elevator doors opened, Will had Martin cornered and talking about football.  Mac has never seen Martin show any interest in sports at all and the look on his face told Mac everything she needed to know about how bad things got.  She went to Will and tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Hi honey!”

“Will.”  Mac had to hide a laugh as she saw the heads of her staff peek around corners and over computer monitors to see if she really would rescue them.  “Can I talk to you in your office?”

Will smiled and said, “Sure!”

Maggie didn’t know what words were said in that meeting.  All she knows for sure is that the next time Will stepped out of his office he didn’t have any college schedules or transportation options.  Jim told her that he looked like a lost puppy for a few weeks, but soon he started spending more time with Jim and eventually Brady, the new backup anchor and finally he had long lunches in Mac’s office.  As Will found more people to work with, the newsroom began to relax. 

But once the newsroom started to relax, Mac started “visiting” control while the show was on. 


End file.
